Tying payments to milestones has saved me a lot of headaches on roofing jobs, especially when weather delays or material shortages pop up. I’ve seen too many folks pay everything upfront and then get stuck waiting for weeks. Your approach makes sense—keeps everyone accountable and gives you some breathing room if things go sideways. Financing can help, but yeah, I’d still want those payment checkpoints. It’s just less risky, especially these days with supply chain stuff being so unpredictable.
It’s just less risky, especially these days with supply chain stuff being so unpredictable.
I get the logic behind milestone payments, especially with unpredictable weather or supply chain hiccups. But I've actually had a contractor offer a decent discount for full upfront payment once—saved me about 8%. Riskier, sure, but I did my homework and checked their references first. Sometimes, paying upfront can be worth it if you trust the crew and want to lock in pricing before costs go up. It’s not always black and white.
I’ve been burned once by paying too much upfront, so I’m a bit gun-shy now. The discount is tempting, but I’d rather keep some leverage until the job’s done. Had a buddy pay in full for a kitchen reno—contractor vanished halfway through. On the flip side, I did lock in a lower price for my fence last year by paying early, and lumber prices shot up right after. Guess it’s a gamble either way, but I lean toward milestone payments unless I know the crew really well.